


Dancing In The Dying Light

by KeybladeCryptography



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Slow Dancing, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23550247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeybladeCryptography/pseuds/KeybladeCryptography
Summary: In the quiet time between nightfall and daybreak, Ephemer seeks Strelitzia out to dance.
Relationships: Ephemer/Strelitzia (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 12





	Dancing In The Dying Light

Ephemer knows where she hides.

Over the course of the past two years, Daybreak Town has changed dramatically. The population has boomed due to an influx of children with shining eyes and shinier weapons. The Heartless have multiplied to keep up, to make sure everyone can get their eager hands on that precious light called Lux. It’s a game and what do children love more than games? Consequently, the days have grown brighter and the nights have grown darker, but Ephemer suspects it’s all nothing more than shadow, a city of smoke and mirrors. 

That’s why he likes to reside in the hours betwixt, when everything is as it once was. Is as it should be. She’s the same as he is.

Strelitzia is birdlike, always perched on high atop one of the violet rooftops crowding the skyline, with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms tucked against her sides. Watching. The white of her dress is the snow crowning a distant mountain and her russet pigtails fly behind her like wings when the wind dares to disturb her. She’s haloed by the golden dusk and it reminds Ephemer of the seraphim in his beloved books of myth and poetry. She shimmers through the veil of midsummer heat and Ephemer imagines himself lifting a different veil, one made of fabric. Someday. Maybe.

Daybreak Town can hardly be called a town anymore but a city, brimming with chatter and laughter as people go about their days or shouts from the brave few who venture out to challenge the Heartless at night.

But it’s quiet at first light and twilight, just the way they like it, so he seeks her out at evenfall.

He sits alone on the edge of the fountain in Fountain Square. Minutes pass and no one comes. No one ever does. He watches Strelitzia descend like a sunset, graceful as she slides down the roof, climbs down a windowsill, and hops to the ground. She scans her surroundings before running at him and hugging him. Ephemer plants his feet against the stone to keep his balance, lest he fall into the fountain, and hugs her back, holding her tight. She’s warm from sitting in the sun and she always smells like the flowers her brother grows. (Ephemer’s yet to meet him, but he’ll get to soon. She promised.)

Strelitzia lets him go and offers him her hand. He takes it and wonders if her hands have always been that much smaller or if his are just getting bigger. Probably the latter. He’s been getting taller too and his voice cracks sometimes. He’s been told he’s an old soul, but his body’s been late to catch up. She tugs, shaking him from his thoughts, and he looks up to see one of her rare, unreserved smiles. It’s probably arrogant, but Ephemer likes to think it’s just for him.

In the silence, there’s a song no one else can hear, made up of the rushing water and their boots against the stone and their hearts beating in harmony. Strelitzia places her other hand on his back and Ephemer cups her shoulder. He knows how shy she is around strangers so it used to surprise him that she likes to lead, but it suits her. He thinks it’s because she’s quiet enough that she can hear the song better than he can. 

She steps back, her foot landing in the center of a star and gloaming light bursts in Ephemer’s peripheral vision. She spins them so she can look over his shoulder at her secret place and Ephemer smooths her hair. She’s safe, even out here in the open. He knows she knows this, but it doesn’t hurt to remind her, with her cheek pressed against the palm of his hand. It takes him by surprise when she dips him and it must show on his face because Strelitzia starts to laugh. The sound’s as sweet as a nightingale. Ephemer trusts her to hold him steady as he gazes up at the sky. She’s stronger than she looks, in every sense of the word.

“You’re bolder than usual,” Ephemer tells her, grinning from ear to ear.

Strelitzia ducks, cheeks tinged pink. “Something good happened . . . I think.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

She lets go of his hand to place her finger over her lips. “It’s a secret.”

“Aww, come on.”

She shakes her head. “I really can’t tell. I’m sorry.”

That kind of secret . . . they’re not unheard of in Daybreak Town. He has his own. He wonders if their secrets are one and the same. Unfortunately, he gets the feeling he’ll be finding out sooner rather than later. “It’s okay.”

She takes his hand again and lifts it and he takes his cue to twirl. That part is always the most fun because Strelitzia smiles when he does it with as much dramatic flair as possible. His scarf fluttering behind him only adds to the effect. She lets him pose for a moment, shaking her head at his antics, before pulling him along again. Ephemer follows her and their footfalls line up perfectly, like the stars in the evening’s first rising constellation.

They’re still too far apart though. They’ve danced so many times that it’s second nature. Neither of them need to focus on their movement or see where they’re going, so Strelitzia rests her head against his chest and closes her eyes. Ephemer nearly misses a beat because it’s so unexpected and she tilts her head to give him a knowing smile. When they first met, she was taller than he was. He’s grown up more than he realized. They both have.

“If it bothers you that much, I’ll start wearing high heels,” she teases.

Ephemer startles and scratches his head sheepishly. “I didn’t say what I was thinking out loud, did I?”

“No, you’re just easy to read.”

“Am not. You just know me too well, that’s all.”

She pouts. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. You wound me, Ephie.”

“Aww, come on now, Strel. I’m sorry.”

“Hmph.”

The rhythm of their dancing slows then stops when Strelitzia decides she’s content to sway side to side. It’s getting dark and she usually likes to go by now, but Ephemer isn’t about to complain. Bright orange and soft pink lapse into a muted lavender that’s beginning to darken to navy blue.

“I know I should leave, but I don’t want to,” Strelitzia says.

“Why do you think you should leave?”

“Lauriam will worry.”

“Ah, right. It’s okay. I understand.” Except he doesn’t, really. He doesn’t have anyone to worry over him much, aside from a letter here or there. He lives alone.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no, don’t be.”

She steps back from him and takes his hands in hers. “Do you want to come over? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Nah. When I do meet him, I want to do it right and make the best impression possible, since you’re special to both of us.”

She places her hand over his heart. “No sweet-talk.”

“Is it sweet-talk if I mean it?”

She rolls her eyes at him and Ephemer beams. She sighs. “Goodnight, Ephemer.”

“Goodnight, Strelitzia. See you tomorrow.”

“Mm hmm.”

Ephemer watches her go before returning to his own secret place. He watches the dawn break from the realm of dreams and hopes that one day he and Strelitzia will watch it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Title stolen from an Amarante song.
> 
> This is a rarepair of mine and I love it so much! Both Ephemer and Strelitzia are really cute and I think they'd get along well together! If you ever want to talk to me about this ship (or anything else) please, please hit me up on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/CrepusculeChaos)!


End file.
